Game Preview: Checkers at Oklahoma City (April 5, 2014)

The Checkers enter yet another vital two-game set against the Oklahoma City Barons – one that could very well determine whether or not they qualify for the postseason.

Heading into the first of back-to-back meetings tonight, the eighth-seeded Checkers lead their West Division rival by two points with one additional game played. The teams are part of a tightening race on the Western Conference bubble, with the four teams ranked seventh through 10th separated by just two points. The Checkers have just six games left in their regular season, having begun a three-in-three weekend with a 5-2 loss in San Antonio on Friday.

Charlotte holds a commanding 8-1-1 edge in the marathon season series with Oklahoma City that concludes this weekend. Each of the last three meetings has gone to overtime, with the Checkers winning a pair of shootouts in Charlotte just last weekend.

Charlotte

In the midst of a mini playoff series against the team they met in last season’s playoffs, the Checkers made an unsuccessful detour to San Antonio on Friday. Though they got to within two goals and had a power-play chance to earn another in the third period, a 4-0 deficit in the second proved too much to overcome.

Nicolas Blanchard and Zach Boychuk scored for the Checkers, who were out-shot 34-19 against a team unlikely to make the postseason. Though idle Friday, Oklahoma City got back to within striking distance of the Checkers by taking care of their own business against a non-playoff team via a 5-4 shootout victory over Hamilton on Wednesday.

Their winning streak over at four games, the Checkers missed a chance to climb to seventh place. They remain tied on points with Rockford, which lost in Abbotsford Friday, though the IceHogs hold the tiebreaker by way of one fewer game played.

A positive for Checkers on Friday was the goal by Boychuk, which allowed him to take over first place in the AHL with 33 on the season. The reigning AHL Player of the Month is now one away from the club record set by Chris Terry, who joined him as a late arrival in San Antonio following the pair’s reassignment from the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes earlier in the day. Terry earned the assist on Boychuk’s league-leading 17th power-play goal of the season.

Boychuk and Terry, who rank tied for third and tied for fifth in AHL scoring, respectively, would be playing their third game in three nights tonight. Sunday’s rematch would make it four-in-four for the experienced forwards who took part in Carolina’s win over Dallas on Thursday.

AHL Player of the Week John Muse could face a similar workload, having played in each of the Checkers’ last five games and 11 of the last 14. His personal five-game win streak came to an end as part of a 29-save effort on Friday, while Mike Murphy has lost seven of his last eight decisions dating back to Jan. 17.

Forward Phil Di Giuseppe and defenseman Dennis Robertson, who recently joined the Checkers at the conclusion of their college seasons, are available to enter tonight’s lineup if needed. Injured forwards Greg Nemisz, Aaron Palushaj and Brendan Woods will miss this weekend’s games.

Oklahoma City

Though they’ve struggled to earn victories against the Checkers this season, the Barons hope that this weekend’s rest advantage will help them reverse that trend when it matters most.

A regulation win tonight could potentially put the home team back in playoff position, as it would hold a tiebreaker with the Checkers by way of one fewer game played. In order for that to happen tonight, the 10th-seeded Barons would also need a Rochester loss in Toronto.

The Barons are all too familiar with the way Charlotte had to sweat out the availability of Boychuk and Terry heading into the weekend as they have been forced to play without their top forwards in recent weeks. Mark Arcobello, who has 28 points in just 15 games, and Roman Horak (second on the team with 47 points) have each missed the last six games due to injury, with their status uncertain for this weekend.

In terms of NHL recalls, scoring leader and captain Anton Lander has been with the Edmonton Oilers since March 13, with rugged forward Steve Pinizzotto (23 points and 157 penalty minutes) and center Will Acton (three points in the last game against the Checkers) joining him since last weekend.

With many of those players out of the lineup, the Barons still managed to steal a pair of points by getting to shootouts in Charlotte last weekend. Former ECHL Checker Matthew Ford is a player who has stepped up of late with seven goals in his last nine games, with Andrew Miller chipping in eight points (2g, 6a) in his last eight.

The Barons also boast a pair of high-scoring defensemen in Brad Hunt (47 points) and Taylor Fedun (34). Hunt is tied for fourth in scoring among AHL blueliners, while Fedun is tied for 14th.

One of the AHL’s workhorses (third in minutes played and first in saves), Richard Bachman has played in 37 of the Barons’ last 41 games, including back-to-back starts in Charlotte last weekend despite a short turnaround between night and day games. He has given up four goals in four of his last six starts and has a 3.03 goals-against average and .908 save percentage for the season.

The Barons have been to three consecutive shootouts, with Wedneday's win over Hamilton improving them to 2-9 on the season. Recent junior hockey graduate Greg Chase tied that game with 4:25 left in regulation in his pro debut, with C.J. Stretch winning it in the seventh round after the Barons had out-shot Hamilton 39-28.

Checkers Notes

Against Oklahoma City

The Checkers' 12-game season series against Oklahoma City, which has two games remaining, ties the longest in team history (Norfolk in 2010-11). Charlotte is 8-1-1 against the Barons this season, a record that marks the most wins it has ever earned against a single opponent in a single season. The old record of seven was set when the team went 7-3-2 against Norfolk in 2010-11 and 7-0-1 against Peoria in 2012-13. Not including playoffs (Oklahoma City defeated the Checkers 3-2 in last season's first round), Charlotte holds an all-time record of 17-6-3 against the Barons.

Zach Boychuk and Aaron Palshaj lead the Checkers with 12 points against the Barons this season, with Chris Terry close behind with 11. John Muse is 5-1-0 with a 2.34 goals-againast average and .941 save percentage in the season series, while Murphy is 2-1-0 with a 3.30 GAA and .895 SV%.

Checkers forwards Matt Marquardt and Philippe Cornet are both former Barons, with Cornet representing them in the 2011-12 All-Star Game. Defenseman Keegan Lowe's father, Kevin Lowe, is a member of the parent Edmonton Oilers' front-office staff, while forward Brody Sutter's father, Duane Sutter, is an Oilers scout.

Barons forwards Matthew Ford and Steve MacIntyre both played for Charlotte during its ECHL era.

Playoff Picture

The Checkers have occupied the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference since earning a 7-0 win over Iowa on March 26. Prior to that, they had been outside of playoff position since Nov. 2, which marked the first of what became a franchise-record, seven-game losing streak.

Charlotte can move up to seventh today depending on their result against Oklahoma City and that of Rockford's game in Abbotsford. Charlotte and Rockford are currently tied with 75 points, though Rockford holds the tiebreaker regardless of Saturdya's results by way of one fewer game played.

The Checkers could potentially fall to 10th based on tonight's results, as Oklahoma City would tie them but hold a tiebreaker with a regulation win tonight. Rochester, which trails them by one point heading into tonight's game against Toronto, would also hold the tiebreaker by way of one fewer game played.

With 32 regulation/overtime wins, the Checkers hold the next tiebreaker over every other team in the race. The Checkers have two games remaining against Oklahoma City, one left against Milwaukee and one left against Rockford.

Player of the Month

Checkers forward Zach Boychuk set a team record for most points in a single month (22 in 16 games) to earn AHL Player of the Month honors for March. He began April with a goal in San Antonio to give him 11 points (5g, 6a) over the course of an active five-game streak dating back to March 25.

Boychuk's goal against San Antonio on April 4 was his 33rd of the season, giving him sole possession of first in the AHL and putting him one away from the single-season team record set by Chris Terry in 2010-11. His goal total, which includes a league-leading and team-record 17 goals on the power play, has allowed him to climb into a tie for third in the league's scoring race with 68 points, a new team record.

Boychuk now has 10 more goals than his previous career high of 23 set last season. He has three more points than his career high of 65 set in 2010-11, which previously stood as the most in team history.

Player of the Week

Checkers goalie John Muse went 9-1-0 during the month of March with a 2.05 goals-against average, .938 save percentage and one shutout. Over the course of the team's four-game win streak that ended April 4, he went 4-0-0 with a 0.87 goals-against average and .972 save percentage to earn his second AHL Player of the Week award of the season.

In the last month, Muse set a new single-season club record with 26 victories (t-3rd AHL), four more than the previous record initially set by Justin Pogge in 2010-11 and later tied by Justin Peters in 2012-13. His last victory on March 30 allowed him to tie teammate Mike Murphy for the team's all-time wins record (43).

A winner of two NCAA National Championships with Boston College and an ECHL Kelly Cup with the Florida Everblades, Muse, who rejoined the Checkers on a PTO in October before upgrading to an AHL deal, has an all-time AHL record of 44-23-3.

Terry Takes Charge

Checkers forward Chris Terry has 39 points (14g, 25a) in his last 31 games dating back to Jan. 23. That surge has given him 67 points on the season, tying him for the fifth-highest total in the AHL and breaking his previous career high and the old team record of 65 that has also been surpassed by Zach Boychuk this season.

Terry, who has been held off the score sheet in just six of his last 31 games, ranks tied for third in the league with 35 points on the power play.

Terry has at least one point in 24 of his last 30 games (38 points total) dating back to Jan. 23, including a nine-game streak from March 9-26 that tied his career high set earlier this season. He leads the team and ranks fourth in the AHL with 34 power-play points.

Marching On

The Checkers set a team record for most wins and points earned in a single month by going 12-4-0 in March. The month was the second-best in team history in terms of percentage of possible points earned (75 percent), trailing a 10-2-2 record from November of 2010 (79 percent) that set the previous record for most wins. With 16 games, March tied the busiest month in team history (January of 2011: 7-8-1).

Over the course of March, the Checkers climbed from 14th place (nine points out of a playoff spot) to eighth (four points ahead) in the Western Conference standings.

Power Players

Both Zach Boychuk (1st AHL with 17) and Chris Terry (t-3rd with 14) have broken the franchise record for most power-play goals in a single season previously held by Jacob Micflikier (12 goals in 2010-11). Meanwhile, Mark Flood's seven power-play goals are tied for third among AHL defensemen and tied for the most ever by a Checkers blueliner in a single season (Bobby Sanguinetti in 2011-12).

The 31 total goals by Boychuk and Terry are the most of any two teammates in the league, with the 27 by Texas' Chris Mueller (14) and Colton Sceviour (13), both of whom are currently in the NHL with Dallas, coming in second. They are responsible for 44.3 percent of the Checkers' 70 power-play goals this season.

The Checkers currently rank second in the AHL with a 22.5 percent success rate on the power play - a mark that, if sustained for the final six games of the season, would mark the highest of their four AHL campaigns. The team has never converted at a rate lower than 19.8 percent over the course an entire season.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers' four-game win streak that ended April 4 tied four three previous streaks for their longest of the season. They have not won five in a row since setting a club record with a six-game streak in January of last season.
• The Checkers' 10 overtime games are the fewest of any AHL team.
• Aaron Palushaj's 20th goal of the season on March 9 was also his sixth game winner, putting him into a nine-way tie for most in the AHL.
• Despite not finding the back of the net since Feb. 22 (18 games) Mark Flood ranks fourth among AHL defensemen with 12 goals. That sets a career high and is the most ever by a Charlotte defenseman in a single season.
• The Checkers' three shorthanded goals are the fewest in the AHL. They have never scored fewer than six in a single season.
• Charlotte is 17-11-2 against fellow West Division teams this season. Each of their next two games will be played against divisonal opponents, with their final four played against teams in the Midwest (10-9-1).

Player Streaks

• Zach Boychuk has assists and points in each of his last five games (March 25-April 4: 5g, 6a)
• Chris Terry has points in each of his last two games (March 30-April 4: 1g, 1a)
• Nicolas Blanchard has points in each of his last two games (March 30-April 4: 1g, 1a)

Milestones

• Jared Staal is one shy of 200 professional games played
• Zach Boychuk is one shy of 100 Checkers goals
• Brett Sutter is one shy of 200 AHL points
• Sean Dolan is one shy of 100 professional penalty minutes
• Matt Marquardt is two shy of 150 professional points
• Brody Sutter is two shy of 50 professional points
• Chris Terry is two shy of 300 professional points
• Chris Terry is three shy of 150 Checkers assists
• Chris Terry is three shy of 300 AHL points
• Matt Corrente is three shy of 550 professional penalty minutes
• Chris Terry recorded his 250th Checkers point on April 4

Injuries

• Aaron Palushaj - missed five games starting March 25
• Greg Nemisz - missed 14 games starting March 8
• Brendan Woods - missed 20 games starting Feb. 22

Transactions

Incoming

• April 4 - (LW) Zach Boychuk reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• April 4 - (LW) Chris Terry reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• April 4 - (D) Ryan Murphy recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte